White African American Sues School for Discrimination

Paulo Serodio was born and raised in Mozambique. He is a naturalized citizen who has been attending medical school here in the United States. According to a lawsuit filed by Serodio, he was subjected to harassment and ultimately suspended unfairly once he began to define himself as a white African American.

Filed last week in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, the lawsuit traces a series of events that Serodio maintains led to his 2007 suspension from school, starting with a March 2006 cultural exercise in a clinical skills course taught by Dr. Kathy Ann Duncan, in which each student was asked to define themselves for a discussion on culture and medicine.

After Serodio labeled himself as a white African American, another student said she was offended by his comments and that his white skin prevented him from defining himself as an African American.

According to the lawsuit, Serodio was summoned to Duncan's office where he was instructed "never to define himself as an African American because it was offensive to others and to people of color for him to do so."

"It's crazy," Serodio's attorney, Gregg Zeff, told ABCNews.com. "Because that's what he is."

Serodio, who lives in Newark, N.J., said he never meant to offend anyone and that calling himself African American is meant to be disrespectful to any one else's cultural heritage. Source: ABC News 'White African American' Sues Med School

I do not see the problem with Serodio defining himself as an African American; he even added the "white" racial descriptor for specificity.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines African American as "an American of African and especially of black African descent."

"There are people of all races who are African," Serodio said, adding that he's never had a problem identifying himself as an African American until that day in Duncan's class.

[Serodio also stated] "I wouldn't wish this to my worst enemy. I'm not exaggerating. This has destroyed my life, my career." Source: ABC News 'White African American' Sues Med School

Like everyone else, Paulo Serodio has the right to call himself whatever he wants. Why is it anyone else's business? Why would anyone else care?

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+ One Woman's Story as a White African American